MotherReader

It was to be another TeenReader Tuesday, but the sneaky girl got past me without writing her review. We did chat about the book with our usual banter, and I can say that the phrase, “Oh I’m sorry, but it seems I got a little Christian fiction on you,” was uttered. So that’s something to look forward to for next week.

Instead it will be a day to touch base on a few KidLitosphere topics. First off, the 48 Hour Book Challenge! Thanks to everyone who has helped in promoting this community event. Keep it up! Sign-ups are rolling in and it will only get bigger and better. While the challenge encourages you to block off a two-day time period, don’t feel that you have to dedicate that much effort to participate. Eligibility for prizes is set at twelve hours. Twelve. Certainly you want to set aside at least twelve hours for reading on a lovely June day, right? And besides prizes there are charities involved, like this school I’m supporting through Donors Choose. Come play along.

Speaking of charities, there is another school that needs your help. Ballou Senior High School in Washington, D.C., will be the recipient of this year’s Guys Lit Wire Book Fair. At the blog, you’ll find a link to the wish list at Powell’s Books where you can purchase a title and have it sent to the needy library in our nation’s capitol. I’m excited to send the students these Random House titles:

The Rivalry, by John Feinstein (mystery at the Army-Navy game)
The Coming of the Dragon, by Rebecca Barnhouse (Beowulf-inspired, with dragons!)
Efrain’s Secret, by Sofia Quintero (senior dreams of escaping the Bronx)
We Were Here, by Matt De La Peña (running away, self-discovery, something dark)
I Will Save You, by Matt De La Peña (ditto?)
Trash, by Andy Mulligan (not-so-distant future, in unnamed Third World country)

Third thing. Um, I’m not sure I had a third thing, but it seems like there should be one. Let’s say BookExpo America is the third thing. I’m going. Are you? I’ll be flying in Wednesday morning and hightailing it to the book signings in the morning — which are epic! — and then I’ll take in the BEA Middle-Grade Editors Buzz from 2:00–3:30 p.m. Do not plan to engage me in conversation before that afternoon unless you are signing a book, giving me a book that is signed, or booking me for signing sessions. Yeah, I don’t know what the last one means either, but you get the picture that I’ll be very busy collecting prizes for the 48 Hour Book Challenge. But come Thursday, I’m all networking and chatting it up. I’ll be at the KidLit Drink Night and am hoping to pull together a little KidLit lunch corner on Thursday. We’ll trade ARCs like baseball cards and lament the length of the Mo Willems line. It’ll be fun.

Join me in a journey back in time — all the way back to May 27th — to visit my BookExpo America Experience. It starts with an flight to NYC leaving at 7:00 a.m. By the time you even read that sentence, you realized what I didn’t consider — that a 7:00 a.m. flight from National Airport was going to require an ungodly early wake-up time. True, but it did get me to BEA for the whole day on Thursday. Very important, as I’d already decided to pass on Wednesday to reduce my time away from home.

Once I got to the Javits Center and collected my pass, I was off to get books. I had come with the idea of meeting authors and getting books signed, rather than collecting ARCs. That said, there were a few I couldn’t resist along the way. Namely Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness; The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis (Dear America), by Kirby Larson; Philippa Fisher and the Fairy’s Promise, by Liz Kessler; The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend, by Kody Keplinger; Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream, by Jenny Han; and President of the Whole Fifth Grade, by Sherri Winston. There were a some others that I gave out as prizes in the 48 Hour Book Challenge, but these I still have.

I had looked through the online signing schedules exhaustively to plan my day, only to find that they handed me an all-too-useful spreadsheet when I arrived. Argh. I knew that my own listing was way too ambitious, but I knew my priorities and guessed at my time limitations.

My ridiculous flight meant I was early enough to catch even the 10:00 a.m. signings, and three of my top morning choices were Elizabeth Bluemle for How Do You Wokka-Wokka?, Adam Rex for Fat Vampire, and David Wiesner for Flotsam. Mission accomplished. I was dying to see James Howe, but the line was way too long. Then a quick stop to say hi to Mo Willems, get a poster signed, and pick up Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion. Then a dash to get a copy of Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection signed by Matt Dembicki — a local illustrator who came to my library a few years ago to do a drawing session for kids. We talked for a while there, and I was happy to see him on the BEA floor with this great new book.

I decided to skip the Jeff Kinney signing because the line was crazy long, and I hoped I could catch him later at the Guys Read session. I did wait for Laurie Halse Anderson because I really wanted Forge, the sequel to Chains. That said, I haven’t read it yet. C’mon, I’ve been really busy. I also had to pass by a few others on my list, but I ended up in the right place, right time to catch Barney Saltzberg to sign All Around the Seasons.

Then it was the quickest food grab ever to make it to the Guys Read session with Jon Scieska, Adam Rex, Mac Barnett, Eric Luper and Jeff Kinney. This was the highest priority of my day, and I enjoyed it throughly — from the banter among the panelists, to the video, to the Groucho glasses on my chair. Having no shame, I marched up to each of the Guys, introduced myself, and had them sign the book Guys Read: Funny Business. (Yeah, I haven’t read it yet either. Don’t judge me!) I got a few pictures, several handshakes, and a copy of The Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity, by Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Adam Rex.

Afterward, I barely caught Gretchen Rubin’s signing of The Happiness Project, but she was very nice about it. And I was so excited to get the book! I spend the next hour kind of wandering. I hit a few signings randomly and caught some good ARCs as publishers were clearing out their stash of holdbacks (see above). I had been sorry to miss Roger Sutton’s signing, but a copy of A Family of Readers was among Candlewick’s last handouts. Sweet.

Betsy Bird and I were going to meet up at an Author’s Tea she was attending, but due to no-shows I was able to get a seat at the table. The table occupied by Richard Peck, that is. Betsy was our table hostess, but we didn’t need much help to keep the conversation going with such an iconic children’s author. I got a copy of his new book, Three Quarters Dead, which looks like a real departure from the Peck books I know. After the tea and cookies, I was able to catch Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazlee to sign a copy of the ARC Clementine: Friend of the Week and was glad to have the chance to gush like a madwoman. I also met Jan Brett for a brief signing of The 3 Little Dassies — but long enough for me to mention how much I loved The Easter Egg, along with the video on Amazon. On the way out of the tea, I was able to get a copy of The Red Pyramid, but unfortunately missed the author himself.

With a bagload of books, I went to the shipping center, and then I was back to the same hall for the Book Blogger Convention reception. By this point, I was exhausted and remember very little as to the specifics of who I met or what I talked about. I can say with some certainty that I chatted with a marketing person, an author I’ve met before, and a very pregnant woman wearing heels. I can also confirm that I grabbed at least four of the little black-and-white cookies before the staff cleared the tray. No sense in them going to waste.

Other than a quick dinner in a noisy bar, a bus ride to the upper West side, and a well-appreciated stay at the home of Betsy Bird, that concludes my BEA day. Next up, Day Two: Book Blogger Convention 2010.

Oh, so much I meant to write about this week. This month, really. But it would be best for me to focus on only my shorter-term ball-dropping, as it were.

First, quickly, a note to check out the three categories of books I see as most essential for a child’s beginning bookshelf. See if you agree with me at PBS Booklights.

Second, also quickly, save some time to read the amazing interviews from the Summer Blog Blast Tour. I’ll be doing reading on Sunday, after my Girl Scout camping trip but before LOST. (LOST!!!)

Third, less quickly, I’m going to the Book Blogger Convention on Friday, May 28th, and there is still time for you to join me there. Yes, I just checked the registration, and it’s still open. The schedule looks very interesting, and the registration fee includes a pass to BookExpo America. There are a number of publishers who will be in attendance, along with the bevy of bloggers. (Bevy being our official group designation, I believe.) Looking at the list of attendees, I’m going to be meeting a lot of new people. As this is not KidLitCon (stay tuned for more info on that!), more participants are bloggers in adult books — though there is a lot of crossover in YA. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share knowledge with this group, plus listen to our own Betsy Bird and Terry Doherty on panels and Maureen Johnson as a speaker. Look at the full listing at the site.

If you can’t make the whole thing, consider coming to the reception on Thursday evening after BEA closes shop for the day. I’ll certainly be there, and will be trolling the BEA floor itself on Thursday. With all that is going on at home, I couldn’t afford to take the time to come on Wednesday. Sorry, but I’ll miss KidLit Drink Night. I’m flying in early on Thursday morning to put in a full day at BEA, so I’d love to see some blogger friends along the way (or someone to pick me up at JFK). I’m mostly looking at book signings to collect prizes for the 48 Hour Book Challenge (Still taking sign-ups! And prize donations!), and I’ll bet if you look at the schedule you can figure out where I’ll be. I can say for sure though that I’m going to attend the presentation of Guys of Guys Read at 1:00PM at the Downtown Stage. I’ll wear my letter scarf so you can find me. (What’s my letter scarf? Oh, you’ll know it when you see it.)

All that said, I would be elated to know in advance about some BFFs to expect to see there, so drop a comment here or coordinate on Facebook or something. Seriously, I shouldn’t even be going to NYC with everything I’ve got on my plate, so I could use an energy boost from my buddies. In a pinch, I’d even take envy.

On Saturday morning, I awaited the arrival of Liz Burns to drop off her suitcase at the hotel. Then Carlie Webber, Liz and I took a cab (after a quick Starbucks break) to the Javits Center. I thought I had a plan for the morning, but it kept falling apart as I missed the people I had planned on seeing and was distracted by signings I had not planned on attending. I know that I missed the signings that I had looked at — Jan Brett, Peter McCarty, and Sarah Dessen. I did make the signings for Walter Dean Myers, Peter Reynolds, and some lady who wrote an eBay book.

I spent some of this day wandering through the publishers’ booths. Like I said before, not a lot of ARCs. I was able to pry Neil Gaiman’s Blueberry Girl away from the HarperCollins people. They were giving away coded cards that let you read some of their new offerings online. Hmmm. Wonder if this will be a trend. The Holiday House people were very nice. They couldn’t give me the books I wanted to see then, but promised to send them later, which was actually better for my shipping rate.

So I’m walking around without an agenda, and a particular voice catches my attention. I turn around, and call, “Mo?” He turns, and says, “Blogger!”

He was there with Tom Warburton, a new author of the book 1000 Times No. Tom and I had communicated by email, and I have the book to review this week. Mo introduced me as his #2 fan, since apparently a kid near his current home has that award. I reassured Tom that the restraining order had been removed long ago, and that it was all good now. Mo and I talked about kids, busy schedules, his DC ventures, and the KidLitosphere Conference in October. Tom and I talked about his book, his promotion efforts, and the BEA experience. They both signed my shirt, adding a little artwork. I even got a picture taken. And in case you’re thinking it — no, I did not stalk Mo. I didn’t even think he’d be there that day. It was simply fate.

During a quick lunch with a four-dollar soda, I sat at the same table as some publishing reps. I told one lady how jealous I was of her Catching Fire ARC on the table. She told me that it had been left there, so I could have it. Score!

At 2:00 p.m. I ran to the Book Blogger Panel. I’ll remember it as the meeting where I talked no less than three times, without being on the panel. Is that wrong? Perhaps. The panel was adult book bloggers, though some also review children’s and Young Adult books. Natasha of Maw Books mentioned KidLitosphere Central as a directory of children’s and Young Adult literature blogs and had me stand up. Of course, once I was already standing, it seemed quite natural to talk about the site not only as a directory, but also as a way to connect bloggers and authors. And I may have mentioned the conference. I think I also added my voice to the discussion on blog tours, referencing Chasing Ray. I know for sure that I disagreed with the concept presented that having lots of comments is a way to indicate a healthy blog. I did get some positive feedback from that position. It’s discussed, along with other issues of the panel, at Babbling About Books, Mrs. Giggles, and at Tea Cozy. All in all, a lively discussion of book blogging for fun and profit.

After the panel, it was a few more author signings — Sara Zarr, Michelle Knudsen, Ann Haywood Leal, Mark Teague, and Laini Taylor. Liz Burns and I hung out around Scholastic, talking to Laini Taylor, Jim Di Bartolo, and David Levitan. I had them all sign my shirt. We stopped by the Girl Scout booth, where I picked up some bookmarks, and headed to the shipping area, where I packed up all my books and sent them out. Back to the hotel for dinner, a short rest, a little lipstick and then off to the Geektastic party.

Little, Brown hosted the event in the private room of the Lucky Strike Lanes to celebrate Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castelluci. Yes, there was bowling. But not by me. David Levithan and Scott Westerfeld (pictured) seemed to be having a good time knocking down the pins. Laura Lutz was playing for the worst position on the board. Sheila Ruth was up against Wendy Mass, Sara Zarr, and I think Alvina Ling. I lost track of that game, because there were far more interesting victory dances at the other one. I talked to most of the “geeks” — Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, David Levithan, Holly Black, Sara Zarr, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Tracy Lynn, Kelly Link, and Cassie Claire — and had them sign my T-shirt. I told Justine Larbalestier how much I enjoyed Liar — and had her sign my shirt.

When the establishment began the process of kicking us out, I grabbed the ARC and made sure I got as many signatures as I could. Then Liz and I walked back to the hotel, stopping for a cookie on the way and discussing Liar in detail.

Sunday doesn’t need a whole new post. I said goodbye to Liz and headed over to BEA. I went to the signing for the new American Girl book, for Erica Perl’s book, and a poster from Jerry Pinkney. I reported to the Blogger Booth at NetGalley at 11:00 a.m. and talked to the folks who came by. Terry was sweet enough not only to stop by, but to donate T-shirts for 48HBC. I ran into Heidi on the shuttle bus, but we talked a bit more at the booth. I didn’t know that Sarah was working BEA, but she took time off to say hello. Ron from GalleyCat and Beatrice stopped by — though not particularly to see me. I had a few discussions about Kidlitosphere Central, and then at noon I was out of there to meet a friend in the village.

After a three-hour visit that included lunch and quality — if not quantity — toddler time, I was back on the bus to DC. I dozed most of the four-hour ride and made my family come into the city to pick me up. I was too tired to face the Metro.

Now I’m excited to get my box of books from UPS. I’m excited to count down the days — DAYS — until the 48 Hour Book Challenge. And I’m excited to show you my new prized possession. (Click to make it bigger and see the signatures.) Yes, I went to New York City and all I got was this T-shirt.

I’m back from BookExpo America and oh, so weary. I’ll take you through the experience for those who want to know what it was like. For those who just want the highlights, I’ll be doing a separate post that will also list the books that I have for prizes for the 48 Hour Book Challenge.

I took the bus from Washington, DC, and highly recommend it for anyone who wants a decent but economical trip between the cities. It was a four-hour ride, with one fifteen-minute rest and food stop. I had two seats in which to stretch out and doze off. I arrived in NYC around 1:00 p.m., walked to the Javits Center, and checked my luggage there. I headed directly to the children’s books and autographing area.

Now, something I didn’t know about BEA is that the books are free. At ALA, the published books are usually about ten bucks. But here, both the ARCs and the hardcover books could be signed for no charge. Love this! My books are being shipped, so I can’t confirm, but I’m pretty sure that on Friday I got books signed by Bruce Lansky, Craig Hatkoff, Meg Cabot, David Klass, Nick Bruel, Brandon Mull, Darryl Hagar, Mary Amato, Silas House, John Rocco, Don Calame, and Shannon Hale.

Most of these books I had signed to give as prizes for the 48 Hour Book Challenge, so I asked the authors to sign to “You’re a Winner!” Many of them looked at me as if to question my personal self-esteem issues, but that just gave me the chance to explain about the 48HBC and my blog. I also came up with the brilliant idea — if I do say so myself — of having them sign a T-shirt that I’d made to promote KidLitosphere Central. All of the authors were happy to sign the back of the shirt (I wasn’t wearing it), I got to talk about KidLitosphere Central, and I got my own signature to keep since I was giving away the books. Perfect.

There were many authors that I wanted to see at their signings, but the lines were so long that I had to be economical with my time. Also, there were a lot of conflicts within the schedule, making it that much harder. I would have loved to see Gordon Korman, David Lubar, Katherine Paterson, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, John Agee, Amy Hest, and Rosemary Wells. I also missed Suzanne Collins, but I got the ARC of Catching Fire anyway.

Along with the autographing tables, I was checking out the displays of the children’s publishers. I talked to a few reps, ran into a few peeps, and took a few ARCs. The ARCs were slim pickings, but I hadn’t been planning on a big haul anyway since I’d have to pay to ship them home. Walking around by Scholastic, I saw Laini Taylor by her pink hair, and talked with her, Jim Di Bartolo, Barry Lyga (who had tried to escape from me earlier — Hah!) and Arthur Levine.

I ran into Trish of Hey, Lady! (I recognized her red hair. Distinct hair is very helpful at BEA.) We chatted, and then met up again at the Bloggers Booth sponsored by NetGalley, where I saw Amy of My Friend Amy and Julie of Booking Mama.

Then I hit the wall. Went to my hotel, where I ended up walking in at the same time as Barry Lyga. And he thought he could escape me. Hah! He was on the phone at that moment with Robin Brande, so I said hi (I owe you a call, Robin!). I checked into the hotel, and took a much-needed nap.

On the way to Kid Lit Drink Night, I grabbed food from the street vendors and ate on the way. Barry was already there and we talked for a while before it got too loud and crowded. I saw Betsy Bird immediately, wearing a lovely sundress — the only one dressed appropriately for the tropical temperature of the bar — but as the hostess she was too busy for long chats. She brought me over to me two bloggers Pink Me and Pinot and Prose. I said hello, turned around to grab a drink before settling in for a chat, turned back, and they were gone. So it’s possible that upon meeting me, they decided to make a run for it or they think that I blew them off. I don’t know which is worse. Sheila Ruth from Wands and Worlds and Terry from Reading Tub also made the party, but I’m pretty sure that I was nice to them.

I also got some talking time with authors Erica Perl, Rebecca Stead, Michelle Knudsen, Ellen Jensen Abbott, Bonnie Wayne, Melanie Hope Greenberg, Kekla Magoon, Dawn Stephens (whose signing I was too late for, sorry!), Aileen Leijten, Fran Cannon Slayton, Julia DeVillers, Ann Haywood Leal, and Megan Crewe. Scholastic editor Cheryl Klein and I spent a few minutes on the bar stools chatting about picture books, the industry, and hair products. (Her hair is so shiny!)

Bloggers Natasha Maw, Amy, and Trish came over from the BEAtweetup party. Author/Illustrators Brian Floca and Eric Wight came from the ABA Not-A-Dinner party. Eric and I had emailed about his new book, so it was great to meet in person. Especially as he was such an interesting person. We also shared Jeff Kinney stories. Brian told me a little about his new book Moonshot, but was more interested in chilling out than networking.

The party died down around midnight, and I walked home, picking up a black-and-white cookie on the way. I spent most of the walk kicking myself for not bringing my camera, so if anyone has any pictures of the Kid Lit Drink Night to share, let me know. I’d be ever grateful for some record of the day and/or night.

Later: Geektastic and Being Mouthy

So, I’m going to BookExpo America in about eight hours. I should be in bed, but I’m too wired. I’m trying to remember all of the things that I’m sure I’m forgetting. Even though I’ve spent a lot of the day getting ready, I feel completely unprepared. For instance, I’m still not sure if the jeans I packed are the good jeans. Should I even be packing jeans? Are dress pants more appropriate? Ack!

Over at Booklights, I talked about some of the authors and illustrators I plan to see at the various signings. I’ll miss Mo (oh, will I ever miss him), but I am aiming for Scott Westerfeld, Katherine Paterson, Jon Scieszka, Rosemary Wells, Suzanne Collins, David Lubar, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Peter McCarty, Sharon Draper, Linda Park, Maureen Johnson, Jon Agee, Peter Reynolds, Barry Lyga, Holly Black, Bruce Lansky, and Jerry Pinkney. Actually, I have even more folks highlighted on my schedule, but we’ll see how it goes.

Now, I’m not listing all those names to make you jealous, but to give you an idea of the possibilities for signed book prizes for the 48 Hour Book Challenge. If you’re jealous, than that’s just a side benefit. Kidding!

I’m also scheduled for a slot at the blogger signing at Booth 4077. I’ll be there at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday signing... something, I guess. For more information on the first official blogger signing, check out this article and the complete schedule. If you’re at BEA, come by and say hello. Or if I come by and say hello, pretend to care. Everyone else not at BEA, wish me luck and good ARCs.